Biography

I completed my undergraduate and MSc degree in Medical Biochemistry (with distinction) from the University of Vienna, Austria and was awarded a prestigious scholarship from the Austrian Ministry of Science to complete my PhD at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. After my post-doctoral training I was offered a tenure-track faculty position from Stellenbosch University and was  senior research scientist on several large clinical trials funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the European Union and the US National Institutes of Health. In parallel, I established my independent research group und obtained uninterrupted funding for my work since 2008.

The highlight of my research career to date has been the award of a NIH R01 grant as CIA (US$ 1 750 000), followed by promotion to Associate Professor. In 2017, I relocated to Mater Research - The University of Queensland, where I now head the Infection, Immunity and Metabolism Group.

My research focuses on the link between infectious diseases and diabetes and the identification of novel host-directed therapies for antibiotic resistant infections.

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